Heel breasting machine



J 1964 J. A. HARRINGTON ETAL HEEL BREASTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 25, 1962 MGR 4 5 WW5 H H T/2b M m n! F W%%% a 2 u 7 5 M A J1964 J. A. HARRINGTON ETAL 3,113,158

HEEL BREASTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Qua 2MUnited States Patent 015 ice 3,118,158 Patented Jan. 21, 1964 3,118,158HEEL BREATING MACHINE .iohn A. Harrington, Grand Rapids, Robert J.Broersma, Spring Lake, David L. Runnells, J12, Grand Rapids, andClarence L. Johnson, Grand Haven, Mich, assignors to Wolverine Shoe andTanning Corporation, Rockford, Mich, a corporation of Michigan FiledSept. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 226,020 11 Claims. (Cl. 12-47) This inventionrelates to a heel breasting apparatus, and more particularly to abreasting apparatus and method for breasting heels under high speedproduction conditions to obtain an improved breasted surface on theheels.

In shoe manufacturing, the wedge-heel type construction is formed bysecuring the heel between the shoe and the sole. Thus, the sole extendsflat across the heel, bends into contact with the front surface of theheel, and then extends fiat to the toe. The sole is bonded by anadhesive to the heel and shoe. Wedge heel inserts must be breasted at anangle to provide optimum adhering conditions between the contoured soleand the heel, a good bond must be formed between the front angularbreasted surface of the heel and the sole. Even though this surface ispresently formed at an angle, there is often considerable difficulty ineffectuating a secure, lasting bond between this angular surface and theoverlapping sole due to the large stress tending to cause the sole topull away. In many instances, a sponge rubber sole, especially, willpull away from the front breasted heel surface. After much testing, ithas been found that this tendency to pull away is due to the presence ofa glazed surface which occurs during the conventional shearing,breasting operation.

This breasting operation is conventionally conducted on one element at atime, by manually positioning the heel stock at an angle with respect toa shear blade. The blade is reciprocated through the heel at thepredetermined angle. As is well-known to those in the field, theseblades become dull very rapidly. The dull blades cause heating andresulting glazing of the heel material, especially rubber, duringshearing. Moreover, these knife blades require constant maintenance.They often form a production bottleneck due to the item-by-itemoperation. They also wear out rapidly, thereby requiring frequentreplacement. Further, they are dangerous to the operating workman.

It is an object of this invention to provide a completely novel andunique breasting apparatus that enables high speed breasting of a largenumber of heels at one time. Moreover, the apparatus does not requirefrequent maintenance for or replacement of cutting elements. It neitherrequires nor utilizes the conventional shear blades.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel breastingapparatus not only effecting rapid production, but also substantiallyreducing danger to workmen.

It is another object of this invention to provide a breasting apparatusthat actually eflects a superior breasting operation on the heel surfacewithout any resulting glaze, and in fact, if desired, can eifect aroughened surface of a controlled amount to create optimum bondingconditions between the sole and the heel for any particular material.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a novel methodof breasting heels, especially for wedge heel shoes, which impartssuperior bonding characteristics to the front breasted surface of theheel, and eliminates undesirable glazing heretofore experienced.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel ethod anddevice for pre-setting the heel breaster. The device assures breastingof a plurality of heel doubles into exact halves, regardless ofthickness variations in the doubles with different batches.

These and several other objects of this invention will be apparent uponstudying the following specification in conjunction with the drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front and one end of one formof the novel breasting apparatus;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective View of the opposite endof the breasting apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective View of the front of thebreasting apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a View of the breasting apparatus taken on plane IV-1V of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, enlarged view of the band saw bladeand its adjacent guide panel of the breasting apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a typical heel-double forming thestarting stock of the novel breasting apparatus and method;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, elevational view of a typical wedge heel typeshoe embodying the breasted heel;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a modified form of the breasting apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the fixture gauge element of thenovel breaster-jig pre-setting device, with a plurality of heel doublesin place; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective View of the breaster-jig and thesetter gauge.

Basically, the inventive heel breasting apparatus comprises a frame, aband saw adapted to operate in one general position with respect to theframe, reciprocal carriage means adapted to reciprocate to and fro pastsaid blade, and preferably powered by fluid cylinder means, andheel-double jig means on said carriage means adapted to align andsecurely hold a plurality of heel-doubles for breasting. The jig meansincludes two side elements positioned diagonally with respect to theline of carriage travel and on opposite sides of the blade.

The side elements align a plurality of heel-doubles to retain themdiagonally on a specific angle with respect to the blade. Two endelements of the jig are positioned on opposite ends of the side element.They are adjustable with respect to each other, and thus are adapted tohold a plurality of heel-doubles against longitudinal movement duringbreasting. The combination of the side elements and end elements form aparallelogram with two obtuse angles and two acute angles. The endmembers of the jig are adjustable in the direction of movement of thecarriage to accommodate varying thickness heel-doubles. The side membersare likewise adjustable toward each other diagonally with respect to thedirection of movement of the carriage, to accommodate varying lengthheeldoubles. Adjustment of the side elements may also be necessary toaccommodate different thickness doubles. The side elements may includereplaceable, inner, stepped plates with steps of different widths toaccommodate varying thickness heel-doubles.

A heel guide and separation panel coplanar with the blade and adjacentthereto prevents jamming of divided heel-doubles into the blade onreverse reciprocal movement of the carriage.

The inventive method of breasting heels comprises the steps of stackinga plurality of heel-doubles, spacing each double longitudinally withrespect to the adjacent doubles to create a particular stack angle, andsawing the stack through the middle thereof and at said stack angle on aplane dissecting all of said doubles equally, to provide duplicate heelson each side of the blade. Each heel has an unglazed, roughened, angularbreasted surface. The invention also comprises a pro-setting device forthe breasting jig, including a fixture gauge and a setter gauge. Thefixture gauge measures the length of a diagonal stack of doublesregardless of the thickness. The setter gauge enables adjustment of theside jig members to exactly one half of this measured length.

Referring now to the drawings, the novel breasting apparatus 10 includesa band saw mechanism 12 composed of a conventional upper housing 14 inwhich a conventional rotatable idler wheel 13 for guiding the band sawis located, and lower housing 16 in which a second conventional drivewheel 15 for the band saw blade is located. The blade 19 passes aroundthe lower drive wheel, through the back of the housing, over the upperidler wheel, through an exposed front portion between the housing toallow work to be done thereby. A platform or bed 20 is mounted adjacentthe front exposed portion of the band saw blade 19. The band saw isguided in its exposed area by conventional guides 22 and 24.

Mounted upon platform 20 by suitable means such as bolts 27 is a frame26 which in the form of the invention illustrated includes an upperlevel defined by a pair of guide tracks 30 and 3%) (FIG. 2) and a lowerlevel defined by a second pair of guide tracks 28 and 28. Each track isgenerally a U-shaped guide facing the cooperating track on the oppositeside. A plate-like carriage 36 is guided by tracks 30 and 30 inreciprocal travel. A similar lower carriage 38 is adapted to reciprocatewithin guide channels 28 and 28. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the frontU-shaped upper channel 30 is foreshortened to enable access to the lowercarriage 38 when in the position illustrated in FIG. 3.

Mounted upon upper carriage plate 36 is a first jig means adapted tohold a series of heel-doubles 52 (FIG. 6). By the term heel-double ismeant the starting workpiece which will form two identical heels whensevered by the breasting machine. The saw cut is made along the phantomplane shown in FIG. 6. Jig means 50 is essentially a parallelogram withtwo obtuse angles and two acute angles. It is formed by two sideelements 56 and 54 (i.e. in front and back, see FIG. 4), and endelements 58 and 69. The end elements are parallel with each other and atan angle with respect to the reciprocal movement of the carriage asillustrated by the arrow in FIG. 4. Central slot means 66 is provided inthe front end element 60, thereby severing ront element 60 into twoportions to enable the jig means to pass the band saw blade when thecarriage is reciprocated. The rear ele ment 58 includes a pair ofupstanding fingers 61 on opposite sides of the centerline. These projectsubstantially above element 58 to hold the heel-doubles straight andtrue during cutting; and yet enable element 58 to be relatively shortfor convenient loading and unloading of the doubles into and out of thejig. At least one of the end elements includes elongated slots 65 intowhich the connecting pins or bolts 64 interfit to allow adjustment ofthe end elements toward and away from each other. Keyways 69 in thecarriage plate and cooperating keys on the end elements assure properalignment. This enables accommodation of varying thickness heel-doubles.

The side elements 54- and 56 each include an outer support bar 68 whichhas elongated slots 70 through which bolts are attached to the carriageplate 36 in a similar manner for diagonal adjustment. Removable steppedface plates 72 are attached to each bar es by suitable bolts 74. Theside elements can be adjusted relatively toward or away from each otherin a diagonal manner with respect to the saw or i.e. with respect to thedirection of movement of the carriage plate 36 to accommodate varyinglength heel-doubles. Each step cooperates with the corresponding step onthe opposite face plate to align a heeldouble 52 therebetween. Theopposite faces are parallel. The difierent width steps of replaceableface plates accommodates varying width heel-doubles. Therefore,longitudinally adjusting the end plate means, by diagonally adjustingthe side plate means and by providing the proper face plates, any sizeheel-double can be accommodated in the apparatus.

When a plurality of heel-doubles 52 are inserted in the jig means asshown in FIG. 4, they are held longitudinally by the end elements andare positioned and held diagonally and laterally by the side elements.In this arrangement, several heel-doubles can be cut at one time at anexact angle along the phantom plane 53 illustrated in FIG. 6. In theform of the invention illustrated, nine heel-doubles are sawed intoeighteen heels in the upper jig means, and nine additional ones aresawed in the lower jig means 84 This lower jig means is identical to theupper jig means as mounted on its carriage plate 38. In FIG. 3, thefront element of the lower jig means is removed to show the elongatedkey slot means 82 in the carriage plate 33.

Each of the carriage plates includes a forward projection 86 adapted toshift a control valve 88 to limit the reciprocal travel of the carriage,i.e. act as a limit switch. In FIG. 2, the upper limit switch 88 isshown shifted, and the lower limit switch S8 is in its unshiftedposition. Normally, the carriages are controlled to cause one to beshifted to the right, while the other is shifted to the left. Thisallows unloading and loading of one, while the heel-doubles in the otherare being sawed. The carriage plates 36 and 38 are reciprocated by fluidcylinders 90 and 92 respectively. The cylinders are mounted on avertical support plate 94 fixedly secured to platform 213 as shown inFIG. 2. The rods 98 (FIG. 4) of the air cylinders are connected to thecarriage plates with suitable couplings 1% interfitting with a T-slot inthe carriage plate. Other suitable connections can be used.

The band saw blade 19 extends through an opening 106 (FIG. 2) inplatform 21 of the apparatus. Adjacent the band saw blade coplanartherewith and extending to the rear thereof is a metallic plate or panel119. As illustrated in FIG. 5, this plate 110 is preferably secured bysuitable screws 112 to a bar support 114, which in turn is secured bybolts 116 to frame 26 of the apparatus. Welded to this panel is a thin,vertically elongated, metallic platelet or shedder blade 118 whichextends adjacent one side of blade 19, but is not attached to the blade.Panel 110 and platelet 118 protect the band saw from being jammed by thesawed heels either during forward or return movement of the carriage.The end edges of this shedder are purposely tapered to prevent the cutheels from snagging it when passing.

A suitable control box 120 includes switch 122 for actuation of the bandsaw, a second switch 124 for ac tuation of the air source to thecylinders and valves, and an emergency stop switch 126. Box 121) ismounted upon stand 123 extending upwardly from the frame. A pair ofmanually operated valves or switches 136 and 138 may be utilized forsafety purposes, to require both hands of the worker to be placedthereon before actuation ccurs.

Operation When manufacturing shoes, such as the wedge-heel shoes 140illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein the heel insert 142 is bonded betweensole 144 and the main body of the shoe, it is desired to form an angularbreasted front heel surface 146 which is not glazed, but rather isslightly roughened. This has been found to provide optimum bondingconditions with an adhesive placed between sole 144 and heel 142. Toform the heels 142, therefore, a plurality of the heel-doubles 52 areinserted in each of the jig means 50 and 80 when in their retractedposition at the left of the apparatus as illustrated by jig 80 in FIG.4. Here the upper jig 59 is shown filled with nine heel-doubles andpartially shifted to the right so that a couple of the doubles have beenbreasted. Of course, face plates 72 are provided to suit the particularthickness heel-double, and the side elements and end elements areadjusted diagonally and longitudinally, respectively, to fit theparticular thickness and length heel-doubles involved.

Initially, the workman had depressed switch 122 to actuate the band saw,and switch 124 to supply pressurized air to the apparatus. Then bydepressing manual valves 136 and 138, the first cylinder 90 was actuatedto retract and pull upper carriage 36 and its jig means 50 to the right.The heel-doubles and jig means are pulled past the moving band saw asshown in process by carriage 36 and jig Si in FIG. 4 to sever theheel-doubles into two equal portions. This provides eighteen identicalheels having front breasted surfaces cut an exact angle, and without anyglazing. When the upper carriage reaches its maximum position to theright, projection 86 contacts limit switch 88 which halts rod 98 ofcylinder 90. An elongated, centrally positioned slot 111 in thecarriage, slot 66 in the front end element and a corresponding slot inthe rear element allow carriage movement past blade 19 (FIG. 4).

The second and lower jig means 81 is now ready to be loaded. Since uppercarriage 36 has moved to the right, the lower jig means is accessiblefrom above as illustrated in FIG. 4 to be loaded with heel-doubles. Whenit is loaded, manual Valves 136 and 138 are again depressed by theWorkman to cause fluid cylinder 92 to retract and draw the lower jigmeans, with its contained heel-doubles, past the blade to sever theminto identical heels. An elongated slot 113 in the lower carirageenables it to move past the blade. Simultaneously, upper cylinder 99 isactuated in a reverse direction to extend and move breasted heels backto the original position at the left of the frame for unloading. Theheels move past panel 11$) and platelet 118 which prevent jammingcontact of the heels with band saw blade 19 when moving in this reversedirection. When the heel-doubles return to the original startingposition, they are removed by the workman and replaced by a new batch ofheel-doubles. By this time, the lower carriage has reached its extremeright position. Switches 136 and 138 are then again depressed to severthe new batch of heel-doubles in jig S11, and return the lower jig 81with its breasted heels for emptying and refill.

Utilizing the novel apparatus, it has been found that instead ofbreasting heels one at a time as with prior art devices, a large numberof heels may be breasted simultaneously in a high production manner.Also, the resulting breasted heel is a superior product, since the frontsurface 146 is not glazed as occurred with the prior shear blade, butrather slightly roughened and textured to provide good bondingcharacteristics. This texture can moveover be accurately controlled tosuit any particular heel material, by controlling the tooth pitch on theblade.

Modification Instead of the stepped construction of side elements 54 and56 illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, side elements 54' and 56 (FIG. 8)may be substituted. It has been found that in actual practice thethickness of any one length double may vary from batch to batch. This isbecause the doubles are initially sheared from large sheets of rubber orrelated materials which often vary in thickness from sheet to sheet.Therefore stepped elements 54- and 5'6 of a specific size step toaccommodate one thickness may not interfit well with doubles of anotherthickness. The rubber doubles must be held securely to prevent movementduring sawing since this allows fishtailing of the blade causing the cutheels to be scrap. However, the doubles cannot be squeezed too tightlytogether since the blade will jam as the cut rubber springs into thekerf. Therefore, if the thickness of the heels tends to vary, it may bemore desirable to use the planar wall side elements 54' and 56'. Theseare diagonally adjustable toward and away from each other on carriage36. The side elements must also be mounted with one end flush againstrespective end elements so that the heels will be properly gauged. Morespecifically, side element 56 includes an inner edge 57' that islongitudinally adjustable through a bolt and slot connection 53' so thatforward end 59' can be abutted against end element 69. The rear end 61'of side element 54' is constantly in abutment with end element 58. Thisabutment feature enables the first, and thus all heel doubles, to beoriented at the exact angle needed since the end and side elements areoriented at the exact predetermined angle using this abutment to alignthem. The carriage is reciprocable in its tracks 28 and 23' (lowercarriage) just as in the first embodiment of the invention.

The side elements cooperate with end elements 58 and 6d, at least one ofwhich is longitudinally adjustable to cause them to be adjustable withrespect to each other. Upstanding fingers 63' extend upwardly from rearelement 5% for exact holding with easy loading and unloading. Thebreasting operation of this modified apparatus, with carriage 36 andslot 113 moving past the blade is the same as with the first embodiment.

Pre-Setter The heel doubles must be severed into two exact halves, atthe exact angle selected, Without movement of the doubles or pinching ofthe blade during breasting. Consequently, the side elements and endelements of the jig must be carefully and exactly adjusted prior tooperation. This adjustment must not only accommodate the length of eachdouble, but also the diagonal length of a diagonal stack of doubles whih can vary with heel double thickness variations as well as heel doublelength variations.

A unique method and device for setting these elements of the breastingjig is illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 10. This device includes both afixture gauge 156) (FIG. 9) and a setter gauge 152 (FIGS. 8 and 10). Thenovel pre-setting enables accurate adjustment regardless of thicknessand length changes.

The fixture gauge 15% may comprise a base 154 and a vertical supportpanel 156. Mounted to panel 156 is a platform 15% and a diagonal guide1641. The guide may include a stepped or planar surface 162 which can bemounted to a bar 164. Platform 158 and guide 152 serve to retain adiagonal stack of heel doubles 52 of the type to be subsequentlybreasted. The angle of guide 162 to platform 158 is the same as theangle of breasting in the jig. This angle is usually to form a breastedheel where the front breasted surface is 60 to the top heel surface(FIG. 7). A collar 166 is secured to panel 156 and receives a leg 168slidably movable therein per pendicularly toward and away from guide 162and the stack of doubles. A foot 171) on leg 158 is adapted to contactthe upper edges of the stacked doubles 52. A lock nut and bolt 174through collar 166 interfits through slot 176 in leg res to lock the legin any position.

Setter gauge 15?; comprises a first fiat surface 136 adapted to fitagainst the wall 182 of elongated carriage slot 113, and a secondsurface 184 parallel to the first and adapted to contact the inner wallof one side jig element e.g. 56'. The second surface must be adjustablewith respect to the first. Preferably surface 184 comprises one lateralsurface of a projecting lip 188 of a block ele ment 194 and isperpendicular to a horizontal surface 1% adapted to rest on the top ofcarriage plate 36 when surface 181? is in contact with slot wall surface182. In its simplest form, surface 1554 may comprise the flat top of thehead of a threaded stud 196 threadably connected to block element 194.

Use of Pre-Setter To adjust the side elements 54' and 56', or 54 and 56,to accommodate a plurality of heel doubles of particular length andthickness, a diagonal stack is placed on platform 158 of fixture gauge156 with one end in contact with diagonal guide 162 as in FIG. 9. Then,nut 174- is loosened to allow leg 168 to slide through collar until foot17:1 moves into contact with the corners of the other ends of the heeldoubles 52. Nut 174 is then tightened to lock leg 163 and foot inposition. The heel doubles are then removed.

The distance between the inner surface points 2% and 202 of the guide162 and foot 174 is then measured as by inside calipers or by indicatormarks on panel 156, on a line perpendicular to the guide 1&2 andcolinear with leg 168. This line is perpendicular to the plane dividingthe stack into two equal parts and represents the mean distance acrossthe stack. This is the optimum distance between the side jig elements54' and 56' to breast this particular stack of doubles and is referredto herein as the mean dimension of the stack.

Next the setter gauge is adjusted by rotation of stud 196 to movesurfaces 18%) and 184 a distance apart equal to one-half the distancebetween points 2% and 2%, minus one-half the wi th of slot 113. Slot 113is on the center line of the carriage which is coplanar with saw blade19. The width of the slot must therefore be accounted for in setting thepro-setter. If desired, the thickness of the lip might be made equal toone-half the width of slot 113. Then if one-half the distance betweenpoints 2% and 2592 is duplicated between surface 134 and the backsurface 135 of block 194, the device 152 will give the desired settingwhen placed in slot 113. The setter gauge 152 is then placed on carriage35 (FIG. 8) with the lip in slot 113 and surface 156 abutting slot wall182 (FIG. 10). Side element 56 of the jig is then moved into contactwith surface 18-4 and is tightened down. The opposite side element isadjusted by turning setter 152 end for end and placing surface 189against wall 133 of slot 113 (FIG. 1%). both side elements are thenpre-set at exactly one-half the mean dimension of the stack of doubles,to cause the doubles to be breasted into identical halves.

The setter 152 is removed from the carriage and the heel doubles areloaded into the jig. End element as is adjusted to hold the doublesfirmly but not too tightly. Thereafter, batches of like doubles can bebreasted at length until a diterent thickness and/or length double isencountered.

It will be obvious to those in the art that various modifications of theapparatus can be made within the principles of the invention as taught.Such obvious modifications are deemed part of this invention, which isto be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and thereasonably equivalent structures to those defined therein.

We claim:

1. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw blade and drivingmeans therefor; carriage means adapted to reciprocate back and forthpast said blade; jig means on said carriage including angular aligningmeans adapted 'to orient a plurality of heel-doubles at a specific anglewith respect to said blade, and longitudinally maintain saidheel-doubles equally spaced on opposite sides of said blade; and saidjig means including end retaining means adapted to hold a plurality ofadjacent heel-doubles against shifting when breasted by said blade.

2. A heel breastin machine comprising: a saw blade mounted to operate inone position, and drive means therefor; jig means adapted to hold aplurality of heeldoubles and move them past said blade; said jig meansincluding lateral facing members having inner faces diagonally arrangedwith respect to each other across said blade to hold a plurality ofheel-doubles at a specific angle with respect to said blade, and equallyspaced on opposite sides of said blade to cause said heel-doubles to besawed into two halves as said jig means is moved past said blade.

3. A heel breasting apparatus comprising: an elongated saw blade anddrive means therefor; carriage means adapted to reciprocate back andforth past said saw blade; holding jig means mounted to said carriage;said jig means including facing members mounted diagonally with respectto said blade and equally spaced from said blade on opposite sidesthereof; and adjustable, longitudinally spaced holding means to firmlyhold a plurality of adjacent heel-doubles against movement duringbreasting by said blade.

4. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw blade and means todrive said blade; carriage means adapted to reciprocate past said blade;a parallelogram jig means mounted on said carriage and includingcentrally located slot means allowing said jig means to pass said sawblade; the side walls of said jig means comprising stepped led escorresponding in a diagonal fashion with each other across said blade;said corresponding ledges adapted t hold a plurality of heel-doublesequally spaced across said blade and at a specific angle; and the endsof said jig means adapted to retain the heel-doubles during angularbreasting thereof by said saw blade.

5. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw blade and means todrive said blade; carriage means adapted to reciprocate past said blade;a parallelogram jig means mounted on said carriage and includingcentrally located slot means allowing said jig means to pass said sawblade; the side walls of said jig means adapted to hold a plurality ofheel-doubles equally spaced across said blade and at a specific angle;and the ends of said jig means adapted to retain the heel-doubles duringangular breasting thereof by said saw blade.

6. A heel breasting machine comprising: a vertically movable saw bladeand driving means for said blade; a horizontally reciprocable carriageadapted to move to and fro past said blade; diagonally oriented jigmeans on said carriage and extending on opposite sides of said blade;said jig means having means to hold a plurality of eel-doubles at aspecific predetermined angle across said blade and a group to enablebreasting thereof at said angle into two identical heels.

7. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw; a frame around aportion of the saw blade; cooperating track means on opposite sides ofsaid blade; a carriage adapted to reciprocate past said blade on saidtrack means; a parallelogram jig on said carriage means and adapted toalign and hold a plurality of heel-doubles at an angle with respect tosaid blade and equally divided on opposite sides of said blade; fluidmotor means mounted to said frame and adapted to reciprocate saidcarriage and jig means past said blade; and heel-guide panel meanscoplanar with said blade and extending in the direction of movement ofsaid carriage and cooperating with said blade and jig means to preventbreasted heels from snagging on said blade during return reciprocalmovement of said carriage.

8. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw; a frame around aportion of the saw blade; cooperating track means on opposite sides ofsaid blade; a carriage adapted to reciprocate past said blade on saidtrack means; a parallelogram jig on said carriage means and adapted toalign and hold a plurality of heel-doubles at arr angle with respect tosaid blade and equally divided on opposite sides of said blade; andfluid motor means mounted to said frame and adapted to reciprocate saidcarriage and jig means past said blade.

9. A heel breasting machine comprising: a band saw blade; a carriageadapted to reciprocate back and forth past said blade; jig means on saidcarriage having two end elements and two side elements in the form of aparallelogram having two obtuse angles and two acute angles; said twoend elements being adjustable in the direction of the carriage movement;and said two side elements being adjustable diagonally with respect tothe direction of said carriage movement; said side elements providingangular alignment and retention of a plurality of adjacent, heel-doubleson a diagonal for severance thereof by said blade into a plurality ofidentical heels, each having a roughened, angular breasted frontsurface.

10. A heel breasting machine comprising: a saw blade and means to drivesaid blade; carriage means adapted to reciprocate past said blade; aparallelogram jig means mounted on said carriage and including centrallylocated slot means allowing said jig means to pass said saw blade; theparallel sides of said jig being diagonally adjustable toward and awayfrom each other; the parallel ends being adjustable toward and away fromeach other; and a portion of at least one side element beinglongitudinally ad justable toward an end element to abut said endelement for proper angular orientation of said side and end elements.

11. A heel breasting machine comprising: a saw blade and means to drivesaid blade; carriage means adapted to reciprocate past said blade; aparallelogram jig means mounted on said carriage and including centrallylocated slot means allowing said jig means to pass said saw blade; theparallel sides of said jig being diagonally adjustable toward and awayfrom each other; the parallel ends being 1 adjustable toward and awayfrom each other; and at least one of said parallel end members includingupstanding,

centrally located alignment fingers to hold heel doubles aligned Whileallowing said end elements to be relatively low for easy loading andunloading of heels into said jig.

References Eited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENT S453,376 Murray June 2, 1891 631,114 Hulse Aug. 15, 1899 l,352,745 HartSept. 14, 1920 2,045,329 Lyon June 23, 1936 2,187,825 Clarke Jan. 23,1940 2,227,883 Grose Jan. 7, 1941 2,448,354 Cintron Aug. 31, 19482,470,254 Lee May 17, 1949 2,799,939 Bivans July 23, 1957 3,015,891Larson Jan. 9, 1962

1. A HEEL BREASTING MACHINE COMPRISING: A BAND SAW BLADE AND DRIVINGMEANS THEREFOR; CARRIAGE MEANS ADAPTED TO RECIPROCATE BACK AND FORTHPAST SAID BLADE; JIG MEANS ON SAID CARRIAGE INCLUDING ANGULAR ALIGNINGMEANS ADAPTED TO ORIENT A PLURALITY OF HEEL-DOUBLES AT A SPECIFIC ANGLEWITH RESPECT TO SAID BLADE, AND LONGITUDINALLY MAINTAIN SAIDHEEL-DOUBLES EQUALLY SPACED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BLADE; AND SAIDJIG MEANS INCLUDING END RETAINING MEANS ADAPTED TO HOLD A PLURALITY OFADJACENT HEEL-DOUBLES AGAINST SHIFTING WHEN BREASTED BY SAID BLADE.